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Obesity Just As Big As Ever In the US–More Failed Ineffective Models As Technology Is Not The Cure With, Many Proof of Concepts Not Working, Obesity Algorithms Are Not the Answer

Here we go again with no progress here with awareness or with technology sources gathering identifying data as that’s all the data does is identify. No text messages on smart phones, insurers buying credit card data, etc. is working here. Instead the key elements to helping the obesity problem, doctors are bashed beyond belief on the internet day in and day out. So big business should maybe take a look at what they are doing as it doesn’t work.

In addition, the message is clear when you want to look at role models too, we have some over weight folks in Congress and it’s totally OK for them to be overweight or obese so no role models there at all. Congress has other problems as we all know so add fatties to their list for some that serve us, or maybe I should say “try to serve” us.

I just read about a Blue Cross Blue Shield program that wants to address this in Michigan with kids using social media. Wrong answer with creating videos about their favorite exercises and writing essays as this again puts the kids right in front of the computer so what are they doing here? We all know about the connection with obesity and diabetes 2 by now and the impact it has. Sports stars don’t do much here either, although it sounds good, we really don’t have any experts anymore so while it makes for a nice item for kids to meet the pros, it’s easier for them to go back on line into a virtual world and “be one of them” online as that’s where you can be anyone you like.

We have all by now maybe heard of the infamous Blue Cross credit card data they buy to “monitor what size clothes people are buying” and that just makes people mad and they lose their dignity with such monitoring and besides how hard is it to identify one who is obese, I think visuals make that pretty easy and we don’t need data to see who’s fat. Instead we get all kinds of maps showing where fat people live. I saw something the other day where Austin mad up maps where fat kids are, so what do I do with that I asked? What would someone do with that in Austin? The schools are in a position, who see the children every day to have an impact and not a heat map of fatties?

We come back to people helping people and no number of Fitbits, software, etc. is a fix here but rather people helping people. Again what role models do kids have? They can go open up a game and be that role model online so what’s accomplished? It’s just one more item from the virtual world that messes with the real world and nothing changes. Virtual values do come into the real world and create havoc and I don’t know if folks have accepted this or not, but it does.

I guess we are going to have to do better and figure out how people work as we’re not algorithms, that’s for sure with any level of constant predictability. Even Google is doing a study as they don’t know how we work after hiring thousands of humans:)

So other than logging information which has been around forever so we can see progress, we are back to square one here. BD

(Reuters) - Rates of adult obesity increased in six U.S. states and fell in none last year, and in more states than ever - 20 - at least 30 percent of adults are obese, according to an analysis released on Thursday.

The conclusions were reported by the Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and were based on federal government data. They suggest the problem may be worsening despite widespread publicity about the nation's obesity epidemic, from First Lady Michelle Obama and many others, plus countless programs to address it.

Dark Arts of Mathemical Deception

Professor Charlie Siefe of NYU, a mathematician debunks clinical trials, and few other items to where data is spun and fools you, every day example, hear about the perfect butt algorithm and more. These are probably some things you have never thought about but again after listening to what he has to say, it’s time to think about being skeptical. Here’s a radio show that also talks about the same topics.

This video digs in a bit further with how fictitious business models are used by banks and companies do this too. The models are so complex that CEOs don’t even understand them. “Quants, The Alchemists of Wall Street will take you through how “math models” work at banks and financial institutions in a way that even the layman can understand. More videos like over at theAlgo Duping/Killer Algorithm Page. Bank of America will also tell you“IT’ is a business” how they make money.

Weapons of Math Destruction

This is a lecture where Kathy O’Neill, a former Quant who worked for a Hedge Fund (Weapons of Math Destruction) on Wall Street will tell you what is done with your retirement money and more. The banks and companies use technology to take advantage because they can. “Of course we are going to take advantage because our tools are our brains…if they could figure out a way to take advantage of pension funds they would, a good interview with explaining smart money and dumb money.

Algorithms Shape The World

This is a very good presentation done a TED Conference and really was the one that got everyone started thinking about algorithms and today it’s talked about a lot. As he says “if you’re an algorithm, life is looking pretty good, but can’t say the same for humans”. What is a black box? Nobody has any control over the flash crash. We have moved forward a bit but still we are writing the unreadable and lost the sense of some of what is happening. Nice plug for Nanex here with research.